If only the mini-games that you have to constantly play were more alluring.

All things considered, it's probably a blessing that Dead To Rights II is a short game. Most players will easily nail the coffin shut in a weekend.

Aliens: Colonial Marines didn't leave me catatonic, but it did leave me scratching my head and wondering how a game that's been in development for roughly seven years at the same studio that gave us Borderlands 2 could be released in such an uninspired, unpolished state. Strangely, and perhaps fittingly, it's all wrapped up on a frustrating note that sets up some sort of Aliens tell-all continuation of the story without giving any actual answers.

There's nothing outright horrific about Big Mutha Truckers 2; in extremely short bursts, it can even be a bit of no-brainer fun. But there's too much that's underdeveloped and gruelingly tedious over the long haul.

The AI is shoddy, ball physics are often laughable, and, worst of all, there's no online play for any of the systems.

Turn It Around is a one-trick pony that's still looking to perfect its one trick. The game lacks the diversity of play that has helped make other titles in the mini-game genre meet with at least a moderate amount of success.

All In seems like Crave's attempt to bet the farm on nothing more than a high card. The few improvements the game makes over last year's entry pale in comparison to its shortcomings.

While folks new to the license will undoubtedly be disappointed in the unmanageable controls and cheesy voice acting, die-hard fans of the series will not be terribly surprised by the subpar elements.

Feels rushed and slapped-together as a low-budget attempt to cash in on the holiday film release and make a quick buck from the fans before word gets out that it's not worth half its retail price.

It's just a crappy movie tie-in, pushed out just in time for the upcoming film.

The first time I played the game, I thought that the speakers on my DS had blown out. Background noises that were supposed to sound like running water instead sounded like a harsh mix of radio static and feedback.

Exactly what I expected it to be -- a perfectly mediocre game with a few good jokes and not a whole lot of gameplay.

The idea is solid, but the haphazard controls suck most of the enjoyment from these rails. We'd like to see more dragons in our games, but requiring the use of an ice pack after bouts with the stylus seems unnecessary.

"Defender II." It's hard to imagine why that one is omitted, since it should use the same graphics as the included "Defender."

Simply put, it has no hook. It offers nothing of interest to an even semi-seasoned gamer. It's as dull a foray into platforming as you'll find on your local store's shelves, and another unfortunate example of this license being diluted.

There's ostensibly a big game in here, but it gets old quick, so your best bet would be to borrow FIFA Street 2 from a friend rather than drop any dough on it.

The game's poor presentation and frustrating combat system make the mystery behind The Da Vinci Code one that most gamers would be better off leaving unsolved.

At least the audio captures a bit of the enjoyably cornball feel of the film. The bugs and guns don't make much of an impression, but troops utter intentionally cheesy lines like, "I'm so bad I scare myself!"

Perhaps the worst offense of all would have to be Wolverine. Not only has Z-Axis managed to take everyone's favorite adamantium-infused Canadian wildman and turn him into possibly the most boring hero ever, they've pinned a sizable majority of the action upon playing as him. Boring, you say? Yes.

A pile of uninspired, by-the-numbers gameplay and missed opportunities.

A disappointment of near-epic proportions. Sega ripped out the very heart of PSO's legendary addictiveness, replacing it with a repetitive, tedious grind that shows no signs of ending.

More of a hassle than a pleasure to play. The glitches, poor controls and shabby visuals leave Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run without much to offer, even if you're an avid fan of the series. It's such a departure from what the series is known for, it could easily be called "Generic Action Game & Car."

Even Ocho Cinco might have trouble keeping up the trash-talking intensity after prolonged exposure to the same old Street feel.

As representations of the End Times go, this one's about as scary as a Sunday school play (and not as well written).

Champions Online too often feels like a professionally assembled Second Life module, where character creation is king and the thrill of being superhuman wears thin once you realize that everything else just feels off. Whether or not future patches can set some of the more glaring flaws right is anybody's guess.

Perhaps the worst offense of all would have to be Wolverine. Not only has Z-Axis managed to take everyone's favorite adamantium-infused Canadian wildman and turn him into possibly the most boring hero ever, they've pinned a sizable majority of the action upon playing as him. Boring, you say? Yes.

Spending 30 minutes aimlessly wondering around because you can't figure out what random part of the environment you're supposed to manipulate or sequence of moves to string together to topple a structure is unforgivable.

A severely flawed game that could have been far better had it undergone further testing. The freeze bug is absolutely crippling and has even caused retailers like EBGames and GameStop to reduce the amount of money they'll offer for the game in trade-in value.

It feels a bit PS1-era, prior to the introduction of the Dual Shock, honestly. Once I messed around with the controls for a while, I got used to them, but I am not enthusiastic about them.

Its sloppy controls and poor presentation will likely turn off even some of the most diehard fans of the ATV Offroad franchise.

The game's poor presentation and frustrating combat system make the mystery behind The Da Vinci Code one that most gamers would be better off leaving unsolved.

Binary Domain looks and plays the third-person, cover-based shooter part, but it's really just a soulless imitation. And I'd love nothing more than to bash its robot brains in.

Only for the truly hardcore street racing fans. It's not a good enough racer to attract the wide base of casual videogame race fans, and we can't recommend more than a rental even for the die-hard gearheads.

Gods & Heroes might have made a passable showing in 2005 in its current state, but in this age of Rift and the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic, Heatwave's new release might as well be a Pompeian graffito in a Rembrandt exhibition.

One gets the feeling that the show's creators are trying to wash their hands of Via Domus, awkwardly placed as it is in the series' now-sprawling legendarium. But above and beyond that, fans should approach it as a lark; it's not very accomplished as a game.

Feels rushed and slapped-together as a low-budget attempt to cash in on the holiday film release and make a quick buck from the fans before word gets out that it's not worth half its retail price.

The basic gameplay of Avatar is so fundamentally flawed that even those few bright spots would only set you up for disappointment. Because, despite the guiding hand of Cameron, Avatar is ultimately just another big-name movie game that doesn't fulfill its early promise.

It's encouraging, though, that in just the week since SOL's been out the developers at Seamless have done a great job patching issues, with three released so far. It's a damn shame there are so many issues that are likely beyond the power of mere patches, because the space shooter genre badly needs a new classic to really get it going again.

It's really a bummer to see 24: The Game fail so miserably at being a competent title. It seems that the main focus of the game was on making it look cool and impressing fans of the show when they looked at it.

It's hard to figure how they could have got the story, characters, and point more wrong than this. Perhaps by replacing Tyler Durden with, say, Dick Cheney, things would have been worse.

It has no bite, no personality, none of the visionary creative energy that have brought Timegate's other games to life. It's as clunky and flat as an outdated history book.

Another annoying aspect of TMNT is its overly punishing difficulty. While you can coast through early portions by mashing away, later stages and boss fights can be stupid-hard.

A gathering of half-baked ideas that amount to a clumsy, dated experience.

Unfortunately, where World Tour improved on its predecessor in every way, Total Destruction fails to recapture any of the fun of its arcade ancestors.

By and large it's a boring, scattershot attempt to bring MMX into the new millennium. The original "Mega Man X" is one of my favorite games ever -- and the flaccid 2D sections in this game aren't half as good as any of the levels in the original game. The 3D bits are more compelling, but still substandard.

Spending 30 minutes aimlessly wondering around because you can't figure out what random part of the environment you're supposed to manipulate or sequence of moves to string together to topple a structure is unforgivable.

There's a strange sense of... Well, it isn't fun exactly, but it's a slightly addictive charm that forces you to reassemble your controller and try that damn stage one more time... until you fail again due to circumstances beyond your control, and the rage returns.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the game in concept, and done properly, it would easily have established it as a classic on par with the film on which it's based. Instead we get brilliant concepts ham-handedly executed.

The most mediocre JRPG you can imagine from Enchanted Arms and no more.

While the strategic level is an admirable attempt at something halfway between the elegance of Civilization and the historical specificity of Europa Universalis, it doesn't have the benefit of letting a human player take over. Here, once again, the game falls apart when it breaks out of the strict scripting of the story-based missions.

More of a hassle than a pleasure to play. The glitches, poor controls and shabby visuals leave Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run without much to offer, even if you're an avid fan of the series. It's such a departure from what the series is known for, it could easily be called "Generic Action Game & Car."

A ghost-white imitation of SSX, and possibly one of the worst games in Konami's 30-year history.

All In seems like Crave's attempt to bet the farm on nothing more than a high card. The few improvements the game makes over last year's entry pale in comparison to its shortcomings.

It's clear that Boiling Point has some neat ideas and the potential for fun, but as tantalizing as the game can be, it can also feel more like slow torture than entertainment.

The problem with Homefront isn't just that it sucks, which it certainly does. The problem is that it reveals just how badly many first-person shooters are starting to suck. It's a game that magnifies the preexisting trend of developing to the lowest common denominator.

Afro Samurai is a mess of a game. It's such a shame to see such a beautifully rendered and stylish world ground into the dust by such staggering gameplay foibles and technical glitches.

Aedis Eclipse: Generations of Chaos shows a lot of potential, but buried so deep that it's just about not worth digging for.

With its silly premise, repetitive gameplay and graphics fit for the PSone, Evolution Snowboarding decends like an avalanche from the highest crest to the lowest valley.

Clearly, Tamagotchi Connection is geared towards younger gamers, as anyone else will become quickly bored with it. But hey, if you have a younger sister or a daughter who's just starting to get into games, this would be a pretty darn good start.

All in all, Cold War Conflict doesn't offer much except cut corners and a genuinely frustrating experience.

Maybe one day Frogger will get his chance to recapture his '80s video-game glory, but if Ancient Shadow is any indication, you can probably expect a new hit single from the Bee Gees first.

The Steam blurb for Oil Rush says it "combines strategic challenge of classic RTS with sheer fun of Tower Defense." But as far as I can tell there's nothing more Tower Defenseish about Oil Rush than any other RTS in which you build defensive towers -- which is pretty much all of them. I'm not sure Unigine knows what Tower Defense is.

It's clear from the bare-bones multiplayer, glitchy graphics and incredibly short storyline that Haze is a game interrupted.

Try Guild Wars if you want guild-versus-guild content, or "Everquest II" or "World of Warcraft" for a quest-driven MMORPG. Unless you're absolutely after that million-dollar prize, RYL is an easy pass.

What it misses is the nuance, the charm and the challenge that marked both the original games and the best of the Diablo clones (such as Titan Quest). In short, Sacred 2 is a game that's easy to miss without really missing out.

Gimmicky titles like this may be cute diversions, but they're no substitute for the real deal. The kiddies may have a fun time with Dash for a while, but anyone over the age of six will tire of it after the first race.

Unfortunately, there isn't much to this game's rendition of New York that hasn't been done better in other games.

And a note: there's no reason to pay an extra $5 for the DS version when the GBA version's only lacking repetitive mini-games.

Seems to have fallen victim to the gaming equivalent of Darwinism. By not evolving with the changing times, the GunGriffon franchise looks like it may have finally gone the way of the dodo.

In the end, my trip to Miniopolis seemed pretty uneventful. There hasn't been a lot of improvement since "Bustin' Out," and it's painfully clear.

There's nothing sadder than watching something that used to be great take that long, painful slide into irrelevance and oblivion.

Playing against a pal or three isn't truly any less repetitive and tiresome than the endless sequence of door breaches and fire-and-forget gun battles that define the single-player experience, but it's at least different enough to add some middling interest to a game with little in reserve.

For regular gamers, this is more of the same with a few slight twists. Unfortunately, none of the twists happen in gameplay, where they're desperately needed.

It's easy to see the potential for King Arthur 2 to have been a good game rather than "not bad." But it never gets there, mostly because it's doing a half-dozen unrelated things at once, and none of them very well.

Most companies believe slapping a license is work enough, and while the Goblet of Fire isn't a terrible adventure, it's not nearly as compelling from a visual or gameplay standpoint than what you could pick up for your GameCube.

The lack of speed is a real problem here.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the game in concept, and done properly, it would easily have established it as a classic on par with the film on which it's based. Instead we get brilliant concepts ham-handedly executed.

Much of Genesis' desert dry tedium would evaporate if it was just a turn-based title. You wouldn't have to spend what feels like an eternity manually sending units to check on every little thing. As is, though, this Game of Thrones feels more like a game of musical chairs set to elevator music: slow, devoid of charm, and utterly lacking in payoff.

More problematic is the game's land-based combat. While I understand the difficulty in creating a decent sword-fighting system, the, Tortuga is button-mashing at its worst -- and not even multiple buttons!

The slow load times, the tedious puzzles, and the overall lack of fun in this title are almost awe inspiring. It's really very hard figure out why someone gave the go-ahead on its production.

If you need the realistic tracks and real vehicles, Asphalt: Urban GT will deliver. Otherwise, you'll probably want to get your DS racing kicks elsewhere.

Maybe one day Frogger will get his chance to recapture his '80s video-game glory, but if Ancient Shadow is any indication, you can probably expect a new hit single from the Bee Gees first.

We really wanted to like Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm, but the series is stagnating in gameplay that was obtusely old-fashioned ten years ago. It's unfortunate, but the magic is long-gone.

If you have the means, then for goodness sake, stick with the Wii version of Raving Rabbids. It's a far more enjoyable (and prettier) experience.

The basic gameplay of Avatar is so fundamentally flawed that even those few bright spots would only set you up for disappointment. Because, despite the guiding hand of Cameron, Avatar is ultimately just another big-name movie game that doesn't fulfill its early promise.

Extended stretches of confused incredulity, punctuated now and then by bursts of intense anger. And yeah -- I just equated FFXIV with a filthy bathroom.

The game just falls short in too many ways. There are no mini-games to play when maze-running gets old, and there's no multiplayer.

With more mini-game variety (a lot more) and better multiplayer support, it could have been a simple, fun diversion. As it is, however, it's often an exercise in tedium and frustration.

Feels rushed and slapped-together as a low-budget attempt to cash in on the holiday film release and make a quick buck from the fans before word gets out that it's not worth half its retail price.

Knowing THQ could have done worse isn't a glowing compliment though, and at forty bucks and four hours, the little side-scrolling mini-game included (played by spending tokens you find in the main game) and lame unlockables add no real value.

Perhaps the worst offense of all would have to be Wolverine. Not only has Z-Axis managed to take everyone's favorite adamantium-infused Canadian wildman and turn him into possibly the most boring hero ever, they've pinned a sizable majority of the action upon playing as him. Boring, you say? Yes.

Knowing THQ could have done worse isn't a glowing compliment though, and at forty bucks and four hours, the little side-scrolling mini-game included (played by spending tokens you find in the main game) and lame unlockables add no real value.

If you like fighting games, pick up another one.

While the gameplay remains solid and the features are there in full force, the technical issues and sub-par graphics make it absolutely impossible to recommend over Sony's "MLB 08: The Show."

A failure. Despite the excellent art, and even ignoring the frustrating puzzles, the biggest problem here lies in a group of obnoxiously stereotypical characters working their way through bad dialogue and a poorly plotted and paced script, topped off with three horrifying words: "To Be Continued..."

One of those "if only" games: if only the RPG elements had been fully developed; if only the game world were larger; if only the combat were smoother and not slow as molasses; if only the A.I. were stronger; if only the bugs and general sloppiness had been worked out.

Fans of shooters will find, quickly enough, that the absolute reliance on purchased abilities over skill makes this a poor Counterstrike-style title. RPG fans will, likewise, find that there aren't enough RPG elements to make a whole game out of. And both sides should have the common sense to realize that when a company sneaks out a test game disguised as a full retail product, you don't reward it by buying it.

That rushed feeling permeates through the entire game.